A Sea of Twilight
by Delena Aneled Hupp
Summary: A lesson on heroism: Sometimes picking up the pieces of your old life and winding down is the most difficult part of being a saviour. [Slightly AU] [Mild SelphieFuu]


_**A Sea of Twilight**_

_**By**_ Delena/Aneled Hupp

_**Rating**_ PG'll do.

_**Genre**_ General

_**Legalities**_ All recognisable characters present in this derivative work are property of Square Enix and all that jazz.

_**Mission Summary**_ A lesson on heroism: Sometimes picking up the pieces of your old life and winding down is the most difficult part of being a saviour.

_**Mission Statistic Warnings**_ Mild shoujo-ai(ish) content.

_**Mission Status Report **_One-shot, part of a series.

_**Pre-Mission Briefing **_Why is Fuu a part of all this? Why is Kairi being referred to as the Keyblade wielder? Well, think of this as a teaser of bigger things to come; this isn't just a clip from a spur-of-the-moment AU. It's from an AU (well, maybe AU isn't the best term in this case... whatever) all right, but it's a possible end from one that's spent over half a year in the making, is still not entirely through the planning process, and is a collaboration between two friends and me. It's a highly ambitious project that has yet to work out all of the kinks, but we're making impressive headway with the outlines and storyboarding for it. Just be patient with us, I know some of you will enjoy what we have waiting, so for now, partake of character building while bearing in mind that Fuu, Selphie, and Kairi were the focus heroes.

_**End briefing-Begin Document**_

She leaves them. With a single word and an unshakable determination, Fuu leaves Kairi and Selphie and the new life she could have had on the Islands with these new faces _+and familiar, too+_ with the hopes that, perhaps, with the damage undone and worlds restored her old friends would return. There's a conflict within as she realises that the bonds she's formed with the redhead Keyblade princess and the pixie-cut melee soldier aren't ones she can easily brush off... and then again what of Seifer and Rai?

As she stares intensely at the loading ramp of the Gummi ship, her back turned on the sunset island scenery, a ghost of a touch graces her shoulder.

"Would it really be so bad, Fuu?" comes Selphie's voice, a soft near-whisper, "Staying with us?"

Fuu's eyes narrow in frustration.

"Someday."

And Selphie thinks she may understand, though for once she can't find the words she needs to say.

"Alright, then," Selphie's voice is barely audible; her hand leaves Fuu's shoulder, there's now a chill where once a warm touch lingered.

And then she's gone. Gone before she allows herself a chance to regret it, gone for what is only a few months in her town of eternal dusk, where her search for the two boys that once came first in her life was fruitless... It seems a heart could be returned, in the end, but the dead remain so. In this delicate passing of time, Fuu finds no comfort in a place that she once thought of as home and contemplates her exit.

Her absence spans the course of a year where her one-time team mates reside and they're still learning to move on. Kairi and Selphie still speak to one another, not as often as they did during their travels, but a little more than they did before. Kairi has her boys as does Selphie, but there's something missing.

For Kairi, she sees the changes in the little things that she, Riku, and Sora do in their daily interactions. She finds herself a little more guarded and wanting to rush to Selphie, not Sora, proclaiming some silly little joy, she notices Riku's smiles are more frequent and he's just a little more protective of both Kairi and Sora... and Sora, she's noticed, has changed the most. Where once there was an unadulterated gleam of curiosity in Sora's eyes now burns a dull regret, he's quieter now, his moods are more volatile, his presence more intimidating, and his smiles don't always reach his eyes. Kairi knows that he's trying desperately to pick up the pieces they had all left behind those three long years ago, so she's patient with him when he shifts from pleasant to gloomy in less than a minute's time and when he flinches at a shadowed movement.

Selphie only sees the changes in herself amongst Tidus and Wakka. The boys don't know what transpired during the course of three years, Riku had woven a convincing tale to account for lost time. Selphie doesn't think she's changed too drastically; she can still enjoy time spent with her friends on the Islands without feeling too heavy a twinge of bitterness, she can still find humour in a bleak situation, and she still finds a feeling of happiness in romantic nonsense. As much as she is still the same girl who protected the Princess of Heart on a fatefully stormy night, she doesn't deny that she's grown. Her reflexes are no longer formidable, they're deadly, she's a bit jumpier, and she just doesn't feel the same way for Tidus as she did before embarking on a journey that spanned worlds. Perhaps it's only natural to outgrow a preteen infatuation or attachment for someone you haven't seen in years... but if that were the case, she wonders, then why does she find herself missing Fuu more with each passing day?

And Fuu, as quietly as Fuu had left the islands, she returns. Selphie finds out by heresay a few weeks later and drags Kairi with her frantically to confront the girl. Fuu only opens the front door a crack- enough for her undamaged eye to watch her old teammates- as Selphie demands with a cracking voice why she took so long and _damn you Fuu, why didn't you try to contact us?!_ Kairi notices the look of hurt barely masked in Fuu's visible eye and she puzzles over this for a few moments. Selphie notices only a split second later and assumes a properly chastised look before inquiring how the trip to Twilight Town went. There is the silent _what do you think?_ floating in the air... and Selphie realises the hurt in Fuu's expression is unrelated _+mostly+_ to Selphie's desperate words.

There are a few hours of catching up, though Fuu remains cryptic about her recent voyage to her once-home, and as the drifting sun begins splashing deep orange across the furniture, walls, and floor and shadows begin to fall in the living room of the Fuu's modest apartment, Kairi and Selphie take their leave.

For the next few years, the group of teenagers who were once all so tightly knit begins to unwind, first with Wakka's departure for University on the mainland, then with Riku following, and Sora and Kairi trailing closely behind, though Kairi doesn't leave the Island for the larger mainland university and Sora soon drops out_ +he hasn't coped well with others since leaving the shadows+. _Fuu enters university in the same year Riku enters, though she's the first of the group to claim a seat at the Island's small college. Tidus and Selphie are left behind to wrap up their existences in senior high.

It's in these transitional years that Selphie and Tidus encounter rocks in their adolescent romance; Selphie's heart had never really picked up where it had left off when she was merely thirteen and Tidus notices. They've argued during these few years, they've ceased communication and then picked it up again as uncertain friends. Now, in their final year, Selphie finally finds the courage to confess something she's pondered since the last year of her travels. On a windy Saturday, she walks her way to Fuu's apartment. The door remains unattended as Selphie knocks several times, so she seats herself nervously against the wall, beside her stoic friend's door. After the passing of what must have been only an hour, something nudges Selphie out of a drained sleep.

She looks up to see Fuu. The expression on the platinum blonde's face would be indistinguishable from the norm had Selphie not learned _+and damn, did it take time+_ how to read the slightest emotion on her companion; the chakram-wielder was curious.

Her unflappable heart that kept her strong through three years of violence fails her and she only has the strength to crack a meek smile and whisper, "I really am glad you're back."

Selphie swears she sees disappointment flicker across Fuu's features... Perhaps the fading daylight is fooling her perception. They stare at each other for what could've been hours, Selphie still seated against the wall, Fuu still standing by the door with schoolbooks in hand. The spell breaks, and Selphie slinks away meekly.

Fuu will find her on the play island later, when she seeks the younger girl out as the sun nears the end of its daily trek. She'll find Selphie sitting at the end of the dock that Fuu cannot remember once made Selphie look tiny, the brunette will be barefoot with her feet gently kicking the water as she's lost in thought. Fuu will lower herself beside her old team-mate without speaking a word +_she still finds strength in silence+_ but she'll speak through her actions... She'll place a calloused hand over Selphie's without hesitation and she won't flinch or tense when Selphie leans against her, completely relaxed, herself.

It isn't what Selphie had planned at all, but she realises Fuu got the message regardless... and it will do. For the first time since their three-year mission ended, Selphie finally feels her own world shift back into place.

_**Mission complete**_

_**Post-mission analysis**_ Strike your fancy? Stay tuned for more. AlescaMunroe (here on will be writing for the AU as well, and if anyone's interested in character art for this project, stop by my deviantART gallery with the username RavenScarlett.

I'll willingly admit that the shoujo-ai was my own doing and my two partners in crime rolled with it well enough (I apologise to Alesca for leaving Riku out).

**End Transmission.**


End file.
